Selling Trump by the roadside in Alabama

When people drive by the Donald Trump pop-up store on U.S. 231 at the Interstate 59 exit near Ashville, many of them honk.

When they stop, some are surprised to find the vendor running the roadside store is an African-American woman who is an avid Trump supporter.

Angel Hill, 54, of Sarasota, Fla., has been selling Trump merchandise since Trump announced he was running for president on June 15, 2015. Trump won the election over Hillary Clinton just over a year ago, on Nov. 8, 2016.

"Most people think I'm doing this for the money, and I am making money," she said.

But she also believes Trump is good for the country.

"I like his bluntness," Hill said. "It makes me think he's truthful. I think he's a good businessman and I think he's going to bring jobs to this country. I think he's got guts. I think this country needs somebody who cares about America."

Hill works for Political Buttons Too, which she said has been selling licensed political merchandise since the Reagan era. The company sold merchandise related to Obama previously, which was very popular during his first campaign in 2008, she said.

But nothing has topped the popularity of Trump merchandise, she said. "Absolutely," she said. "They hadn't seen anything like it."

She runs the stand at Trump rallies, and has done two in one day in different states. "It was hard to keep up with him," she said.

The Trump T-shirts, caps and buttons sell like crazy at her company's booths, she said. "They almost have to leave the rallies in a Brink's truck," she said.

Anything people see Trump wearing, such as the red "Make America Great Again" baseball caps, they want, she said. "If he puts one on his head, you can't keep them in stock," Hill said.

Most of the T-shirts sell for $20. The designs that weren't that popular sell for $10. "You can't get any of this stuff at Wal-Mart," she said.

She was at a Trump rally on the National Mall a month after the white nationalist rally to protest the removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville turned deadly when one marcher drove into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman.

When people ask why a black woman would support someone they think is racist, Hill takes exception. "He does not hate black people," she said. "He does not hate women. That's said to slander his name. He does not hate immigrants. His wife is an immigrant. He has no problem with immigrants. It's illegal immigrants he has a problem with."

Hill said that while Trump has been traveling overseas, she chose to sell in Alabama because it's the hottest market for Trump merchandise.

"We travel all over the country," she said. "We always come back to Alabama."